Ruins of Vijianuggur [Vijayanagara] near Calamapoor [Kamalapuram]. Large monolithic trough

Photograph of the ruins at Vijayanagara from the 'Photographs to Illustrate the Ancient Architecture of Southern Indian' collection, taken by Edmund David Lyon in c. 1868. Vijayanagara, the City of Victory, was the most powerful Hindu kingdom in Southern India from 1336 until the defeat by the Muslim armies in 1565. It was built on the bank of the Tungabhadra River and is surrounded by granite hills. The ruins of this vast royal city incorporate distinct zones and are divided into two main groups, the sacred centre and the royal centre. This photograph is of a massive stone drinking trough for elephants, 41 feet long and hollowed out of a single block of rock. Lyon wrote, 'There is a mound of earth close to [the stone trough] with a stone foundation overgrown with weeds; this was called the Kistnadaverayer; and on this stone foundation is said to have stood formerly a handsome carved stone throne, on which every evening the king sat, while the elephants were brought from the neighbouring stables to drink from the trough.'